


Of Data and Discrepancies

by Lithos



Series: Alternatives [3]
Category: Tennis no Oujisama | Prince of Tennis
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-01
Updated: 2018-06-01
Packaged: 2019-05-17 00:08:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,048
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14821514
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lithos/pseuds/Lithos
Summary: More indulgent AU things, but this time Renji goes to Seigaku, and this year written for Renji's day of birth.





	Of Data and Discrepancies

**Author's Note:**

> Well, another year, another data birthday fic. It's rushed but I barely have time as it is. Take this as a lesson kids, finish your submissions early.

Standing before the large school gates of Seigaku, Yanagi Renji took in a breath to settle his nerves.

 

Transferring schools isn't, by itself, anything to get worked up over. But transferring to a school that your old doubles partner attends, a partner that you've abandoned without so much as a word, that was a little bit too much of a coincidence. Not to mention, leaving your old teammates after winning your 2nd consecutive National tournament. At the end of the prize presentation, Renji’s parents, once again, informed him that they were moving; back to their old neighborhood in Tokyo no less. This time, however, news of his departure was picked up by his team and he had no way of escaping their farewell party. But even so, his final months at Rikkai was nothing remarkable.

 

All in all, it was edging into overwhelming, Renji was, after all, only 14. He did plan on avoiding the tennis club entirely, though even that wouldn't do him any good in the long run. Sure, he would probably have to see him, being in the same school. But with enough data, Renji could minimise those chance meetings.

 

In exactly 43 minutes, the bell would ring signifying the start of school. Before that, he would then make his way to the main hall for the welcome speech for returning students. Along the way, he'd ask for directions from a passing student, even though he knew where he was headed, as well as his own class and who his homeroom teacher was.

 

Renji picked up footsteps around the corner.  _ Another student as early as myself?  _ He picked up his pace slightly so that he could stop just before the corner to meet the other. Just as he peeked around the bend, he came face to face with the very individual he wanted to put off seeing.

 

“Sadaharu.”

 

He fiddled with his glasses, the glare of his lenses rendering his face unreadable.

 

“You wanted to ask why I'm here? There are quite a few probable reasons, and I'm sure you've already deduced the most likely one.”

 

“...” Sadaharu cleared his throat, “Which class are you assigned to, then?”

 

“3-1”

 

“I see. It's the first classroom up ahead. But-”

 

“-the welcome speech is in the main hall, right? Thanks, Sadaharu. I'll be seeing you around.” Renji’s voice wavered a little at the end, making it sound more like a question than a statement as he intended. But with a terse nod, Sadaharu briskly walked off without another word.

 

* * *

 

 

The welcome address was quite uneventful, But Renji did catch glimpses of Sadaharu a few rows in front of his, his spiky hair standing out amongst this peers. He was slouching a bit, trying to shrink into his seat, but with his height Renji could tell it wasn’t the most comfortable position to be in. He did notice as well that Sadaharu still kept his anxious tick, fiddling with his pen throughout.

 

Just as he observed Sadaharu slip and drop his pen, the principal wrapped up his speech and dismissed the cohort to homeroom. While settling into his classroom, Renji still felt a touch uneasy. When the homeroom teacher walked in, it hit him.

 

“Pardon me, sir, but Where is Harada sensei’s class?”

 

“Oh, you meant class 3-11? You’re the new kid aren’t you? Down the hall, round the corner. I can’t believe they printed the wrong class on your memo. Grown adults and yet they can’t even stop making typing errors on important notices...” 

 

As Renji walked out of the classroom, he caught the gaze of Tezuka Kunimitsu, and his quizzical look was the last he remembered of class 3-1.

 

* * *

 

 

Gently sliding the door open to class 3-11, Renji dropped to a low bow.

 

“I’m sorry for being late, my sincerest apology for the trouble.”

 

“My dear boy, we’ve been so worried. It wasn’t even your fault! Please get up to greet your new class.”

 

Straightening his back, Renji extended to his full height, towering at least a head and a half over his new form teacher. Just as he opened his mouth to introduce himself, he heard the shifting of a chair.

 

“Sensei, I’m going to the bathroom.” Sadaharu’s deep voice held an undertone of enmity, making him sound genuinely unwell, as he excused himself.

 

_ Just what were the odds.  _ Renji mused to himself, his own introduction lost amongst his thoughts.

 

“Ahh, Yanagi-kun?” Harada sensei gently prompted with a warm smile.

 

Catching himself, Renji cleared his throat, “It’s a pleasure to meet you all, my name’s Yanagi Renji. I leave myself in your care.” He gave another quick bow before walking toward the only empty seat left at the back of the room, the one right next to Sadaharu’s. He honestly couldn’t help but laugh a little at the coincidence. It was such a slim chance that all this would occur, but here he was, hitting every single one of those chances.

 

Sadaharu remained unreadable as he returned to the class, even as Renji gave him a small smile as he sat back down. Besides the fact that he was pointedly ignoring Renji, classes that day went along fine. After the last bell for the day, Renji packed up and prepared to return home. What he didn’t expect was that he would be ambushed in his classroom by the tennis club members, all wanting to ask the same thing; If he would be joining their ranks.

 

The bouncy redhead, Kikumaru spoke, no, shouted first, “ **Found him!** ”

 

“Eiji! Don’t do that to him! I’m so sorry-” Oishi trailed in after him.

 

“Don’t mind Eiji.” Fuji offered a small smile.

 

“I apologise for my team, but they were just excited about a prospective-”

 

“He’s not going to join the team, as much as you all want him to,” Sadaharu suddenly cut Tezuka off, “Stop bothering Renj- Yanagi. I’ll be taking my leave.”

 

“Hey! Don’t speak for him! He hasn’t even said a thing yet Inui!” Came Kikumaru’s petulant protests as Sadaharu swiftly shoved the remainder of his belongings into his bag, instead of meticulously arranging everything as he normally does after lessons, Renji noted, hinting at his true feelings.

 

Renji could only watch as Sadaharu walked off with an air of finality. But, a part of him wanted to run after him, to make everything better with a knowing smile, with the knowledge that that’s just how their team works. But there were simply too many unknowns in this equation. Extrapolation may lead to more dire consequences, and Renji hated to admit, with so many years apart, he couldn’t claim to know Inui Sadaharu as the same person in elementary school. Times were different now, a giant rift has opened, severing whatever bond they used to share and it was painfully glaring. Pushing it all behind him, Renji looked up at the Seigaku tennis team and smiled.

 

“It’s a pleasure to meet you. I'm Yanagi Renji. I used to play tennis for Rikkai University, and it would be an honour to play for Seigaku.”

 

He knew it went against his own plans, but even he wasn't immune to teen impulse. There was something  _ satisfying  _ about going against predictions. He didn't particularly want to join the club at this moment, but since Sadaharu predicted he wouldn't, he very well would. Deliberately messing with Sadaharu’s data always amused him, and that fact never changed. While agreeing to join Seigaku’s team didn’t secure his spot in their regular lineup for tournaments, he knew very well where he stood in terms of skill. In a singles match, he could easily beat a majority of the club members.

 

“Right! Trainings are Monday and Wednesday mornings, as well as Fridays after school!” Kikumaru chirped, interrupting Renji’s thoughts. “See you there!” He added with a large grin.

 

Picking up his bag, he nodded before leaving the classroom. It was Monday, so that probably meant that trainings would start the following Wednesday if they wanted to train up properly for the Regional tournament.

 

* * *

 

 

Training went exactly as he predicted. Everyone’s fitnesses went down from their fairly long break, and Sadaharu was still flat out ignoring him. In the subsequent weeks, Renji gradually got closer to the rest of the team, but still, Sadaharu went out of his way to avoid him.

 

Mostly it hurt, but Renji knew it was only a matter of time before either of them broke their resolve. He needed to do  _ something  _ but it wouldn’t be fair to Sadaharu. Eventually, he decided forcing a situation to talk, face to face.

 

* * *

 

 

Renji waited for the day it was Sadaharu’s turn for classroom duties. He stood just outside the classroom door, observing how methodologically he did each task.  _ He left the desk arrangement for last, just like in elementary school.  _ Renji recalled with a touch of nostalgia. Sadaharu’s shuffling inside the classroom suddenly paused and this was when Renji realised he’s been seen,  _ not that he was hiding in the first place  _ .

 

“You want to talk, so you trap me where I can’t just run. I should have prepared for this. What do you want?”

 

Slowly and deliberately, he pulled up a chair and took a seat at the nearest desk. Daintily resting his chin on his hands, he peered up at Sadaharu, “I'll give you  _ some  _ credit and presume you already figured it out?”

 

“You haven't changed a bit,  _ Kyouju.” _

 

_ So you're playing it this way? Sure, I’ll go along this once. _

 

“I merely asked you for your hypothesis. Or was I overestimating you,  _ Hakase  _ ?”

 

“Clearly, it’s not fair to me if you withhold the evidence.”

 

_ Using such weak counters? You really  _ are  _ desperate this time. _

 

“You mean to tell me the research you did on your own wasn’t enough? How pitiful, Sadaharu.”

 

Renji stood up, putting his face directly into Sadaharu’s, startling him enough for him to stumble to the ground. Renji didn’t think he’d fall, but factored it in anyway. Swiftly, he knelt down and used his body weight to pin Sadaharu to the ground.

 

“ **Get. Off.** ” His voice dropped to a deep whisper, dripping with anger.

 

“I didn’t really expect you to start with the rethorics, Sadaharu.” Renji chuckled. “And we both know very well that you can force me off if you so wished.”

 

“Fine. You win. I  _ still  _ have feelings for you, was that what you wanted to hear? I’ll never reach your level in tennis.    _ You’re  _ brilliant, and I’m just-” He paused to take a deep breath, “I was just about over you, you know?  _ Of course you did  _ , but you just wanted to keep tormenting me, didn’t you. And you’re right. I  _ am  _ that fool who plays exactly to your moves. Pity me. I deserve it.”

 

Sadaharu merely turned his face away from Renji’s gaze before continuing, “I wish you would have stayed in Rikkai, then maybe we could face each other as equals.”

 

I t was only a drop, but just as quickly as it rolled off Renji’s cheek, the tear faded into the dark fabric of Sadaharu’s uniform.

 

“So that’s your current impression of me? You know- No that’s not it. I never wanted to control you, that’s as far from my intentions as you can get. I don’t want to sound as if I’m pushing the blame to you, but if you had just  _ listened to me  _ , things wouldn’t have escalated to this point. I’m  _ trying  _ to make up for what I had no control over and- You’re not even listening.”

 

Frustrated, Renji used his free hand to tilt Sadaharu’s face back towards his, and in one swift motion, bent down to kiss Sadaharu square on the lips. To be perfectly honest, Renji didn’t know what Sadaharu would do. When it came to matters of the heart, he really was just a child. Emotions couldn’t be calculated like the path of a ball with a left spin, so when his kiss was returned, he instinctively shut his thoughts off, moving as his body wills. Limbs entangling as they let their hands wander.

 

Sadaharu pulled away first, speaking between pants, “The custodian will be locking up the classrooms soon.”

 

It took Renji a minute to reorient. Taking a line from days long gone, Renji asked his partner, already knowing the answer, “Are you coming over?”

 

**Author's Note:**

> I'll rewrite this at some point, I'm not satisfied with this at all 8')
> 
> But anyway, I hope you enjoyed reading my self indulgence <3
> 
> Also google word count told me 2048 words, so  
> 1024 x2
> 
> As an IT student, this number makes me happy but w/e please ignore me


End file.
